BY SHARON SIBINDI

HARD work and perseverance have paid off for Bulawayo artiste Xolani “X-Mile” Ndlovu who is set to launch his debut video — Qamazing (Fascinating) — on Saturday at Roots, Ascot Shopping Centre.

X-Mile, an Afro-pop artiste, songwriter and composer, told Southern Eye Life & Style, he felt it was now time for him to have a music video after concentrating on live performances all along.

“I decided to press a pause button and take a chill for a while so that I can work on my craft. Qamazing is one of the many fruits I bore from that. I was
driven by the fact that many people don’t take time to appreciate their loved ones until they don’t have them anymore,” he said.

X-Mile said the visuals in the video have an interesting storyline and the scenes were shot in different locations in Bulawayo.

“So this is such a huge and positive step for me because the single is not only being released as just an audio, but it’s coming with visuals. The visuals in
the video will be interesting in a sense that the song itself is a love song,” he said.

“At the same time it’s about appreciating someone special and one can have their own interpretation of the song.”

X-Mile said Qamazing means more than just amazing and the ‘Q’ was extracted from his native Ndebele language.

“It is a clique that puts together two languages, English and Ndebele, and it’s a way of discouraging racial, tribal and language divisions. It’s a way of promoting unity among us. We are like a rainbow, different colours but one bow, one people,” he said.

The musician said his fans should expect a celebration of a beautiful offering from X-Mile and an evening of interaction with fellow musicians, friends and family.

“Also a special thanks to those who gave their time to come and make this music video possible, including Dannie and Adrian Holland,” he said.

guest column Fr Oskar Wermter SJ

Whenever some calamity befalls us; illness, catching an infectious disease, an accident and injury, a bankruptcy in business, a failed examination, a failed marriage — we want to know what caused it in the first place.

This is not just African thinking; it is a common reaction to very many misfortunes, and in many places and for many centuries.

Witchcraft was denounced as a very heinous crime, and people denounced as witches were in many cases killed. When a witch was brought to court, lawyers were
rarely successful in saving their clients from being burned alive at the stake (which was the common cruel punishment).

I went to a school in Cologne (Germany) that had been founded in mid 16th Century. A teacher at that school was not only a brilliant professor, he was also a
deeply caring and very charitable pastor, as well as shepherd of afflicted souls, Fr Friedrich von Spee sj. He was a legal scholar and author of books on
jurisprudence. He knew the inside of many prisons all over Germany. That is where he found people (women more than men) who had been jailed for the crime of
witchcraft, tortured cruelly, and eventually faced execution by being burnt at the stake. He was a man who was striving to establish peace by making justice
prevail in the society of his day (17th Century).

A man of deep humanity, charity and compassion, but also of analytical intelligence and wisdom, he was convinced that most of these prisoners and victims of
torture were innocent. The common belief was – among the educated and simple workers, learned priests and their church congregations – that people suspected of
witchcraft were definitely guilty and deserved to die a cruel death by fire.

Cologne is an ancient city founded by Romans and famous as a city of trade, art and beautiful craftsmanship. It was also a city where many witches were held in
prisons, awaiting their day in court, where they were most likely found guilty and sentenced to death; rich, noble women as much as miserable poor workmen,
men of the Church as much as statesmen and city councillors.

Fr F von Spee sj was deeply distressed about these so-called “witches” being sent to burn without any proof of having committed a crime as well as executed
merely because they pleaded guilty after they broke down as a result of unbelievable cruelty during torture. He accompanied the victims of torture to the place
of their execution. His writings and public witness against beliefs pertaining to witchcraft and torture gradually changed public perception about this
heinous cruelty, and witchcraft trials began to gradually fade away.

Brothers in nasty fight over land, trade witchcraft accusations, read a headline in a recent Zimbabwean paper. Belief in witchcraft still exists in Europe,
even more so in Africa. But there is also the Witchcraft Suppression Act which goes back to colonial times. Provisions of the Act forbid say none should accuse
another of witchcraft which, of course, one could say, is the whole purpose of witchcraft beliefs. It is part of the universal “blame game”. It is a profound
human desire to have people who one can blame for one’s own failures, moral defects and sins. It is vital for people to be able to get rid of their own
feelings of guilt, by projecting them on substitutes.

Witchcraft belief is an expression of hatred, malice, envy and jealousy. Practising witchcraft and destruction with the power of evil spirits is related to
Satanism. It is sheer evil in action. To accuse someone of being a witch is a way of destroying a person, his character and denying him a place in civil
society.

You employ witches to destroy rivals and competitors in politics, business and even in sports. Allowing witchcraft allegations to be made against fellow
citizens is a way according to the popular consensus – of eradicating the practising of witchcraft. That is the justification for the Witchcraft Suppression
Act. But, in fact, the very existence of such legislation enhances the fear of witches and the dangers of such a mentality. The more people are accused of
practicing witchcraft, the greater the psychological terror emanating from such beliefs.

The prosecution of witches was always linked to torture as the instrument used in making witches known and prosecuting them, more often than not by sentencing
the alleged witches to death and executing them in a most cruel manner.

Torture is still being practiced under dictatorial and totalitarian regimes. It is used to eliminate one’s political opponent and rival of any kind. But
witchcraft is irreconcilable with human rights and the upholding of human dignity and value attached to human life.

During wars of liberation, witchcraft was used not only against the colonial and imperial regimes, but also against fellow freedom fighters and party members
who were suspected to be “sell-outs” and therefore guilty of treason. In this atmosphere of revenge, where unpopular members of liberation movements were
eliminated by way of “extra-judicial killings”, the death penalty was considered acceptable.

Attempts to suppress capital punishment as a political instrument was shunned. But do we not want to create a society free of shedding blood and revenge ? Do we not want to do away with cruel forms of execution like “necklacing”, “disappearing” of political enemies or kidnapping and killing them as a matter of revenge, without anyone ever knowing where they were buried?

Once we believe that witchcraft is a reality, we sell ourselves to “Satan” and all the evil forces in our universe. Witchcraft was practiced even in churches.
But Christianity is about light and life, not darkness and death. We must teach our children that they have nothing to fear from witches and evil spirits, if
only they have faith in our God, who is light. In him, there is no darkness at all. There are also no witches and the malice of witches in Him (1 John 1: 5). We must be free of such fear.

Media, which provide entertainment that lacks humanity, respect for human life and compassion for “disappeared” people and their families. (“Mama, where is Papa. Why does he not come back home?” heard in films perpetuates cruelty and sadism. Kidnappers who kill for political reasons are the true “witches” of today.

Elsewhere it has taken centuries to stamp out fear of witchcraft. Hopefully, we will eradicate it sooner than that.

echoes CONWAY TUTANI

Appearances can deceive big-time.

Perusing the South African media before that country’s general elections in May this year, one would have concluded that the ruling ANC was finished and would face annihilation and pulverisation at the polls. But, alas, no such funeral rites were administered as the ANC won again, albeit with a slightly reduced majority.

Although not on a similar scale, the outcome of two by-elections held in Zimbabwe last week was similarly instructive after the pulverisation of the ruling
Zanu PF forecast by some sections of the media did not happen, but, in fact, the complete opposite emerged.

Before the by-elections, MDC secretary for elections Jacob Mafume was cocksure that the polls would be a walkover for his party; that they were merely going
through the motions because victory was certain.

Mafume, in his typical boastful manner, blurted: “It is now clear to all and sundry that Zanu PF has failed. They no longer allow those in rural areas to sell their maize. There are no jobs. There is no education, and there is no electricity. There is also no good
healthcare. With all this, no person in their right mind can vote for Zanu PF.”

But independent opposition politician Margaret Dongo might have identified one of the factors as to why the MDC got it so monumentally wrong, pointing out how
the main opposition party’s allies in the non-governmental organisation (NGO) sector, who have been tacitly doing the political groundwork for the MDC, are now
a force on their own, with competing and rival interests even against the MDC itself.

In an interview conducted by celebrated author, archivist and documentary film-maker Joyce Jenje-Makwenda, published this week, Dongo observed that NGOs had become a self-perpetuating lucrative business; that they now exist for their own sake.

Dongo said: “You will find that they (NGOs) have money for salaries, travel allowances and posh cars, but they do not have money for projects or to
finish projects despite the fact that the donor has spent millions on women empowerment in every aspect, be it political, maternal health or domestic violence.

They (donors) do not evaluate on the ground to see if they are making any progress. There is a syndicate or a cartel which speaks donor language, and these are
used to write reports. The donors just evaluate the written reports.” Precisely.

As one can see, it’s not a coincidence that these NGOs are double-dipping and carefully navigating between donors and the MDC to maximise from both. To keep
donor funding flowing in, they have to point out that they are filling the gap caused by failings of the government.

But the paradox of it all is that it’s not in their greedy interest for the opposition to replace the government. Victory for the opposition is an existential threat to them; it is a threat to their very existence. The day the government fully delivers, these NGOs are out of a job.

That is why after decades with NGOs on the ground, poverty still rules in rural areas.

The complete eradication of poverty in rural areas, which the MDC has been promising to do, is an existential threat to NGOs.

It is the same operative manipulative logic and business model, so to speak, used by global pharmaceutical cartels to corner the market for some medicines.

For instance, cheaply available insulin, used in the treatment of diabetes, is a big threat to pharmaceutical firms’ profits to the extent that these pharmaceuticals ignore their responsibility to humanity at large in order to make money for their shareholders.

That is why more than a century after its discovery, insulin is still expensive despite the fact that its price should have gone down because
it’s inexpensively made and hundreds of millions use it. Likewise, NGOs have taken the space in rural areas, but want to keep on monopolising it because there
is a lot of money to be made.

Not to mention that the intensity and virulence of attacks on the ruling party by the largely anti-Zanu PF private media has, in the long run, had the
unintended opposite and positive effect of keeping Zanu PF on its toes to quickly rectify whenever it is exposed as falling short. Indeed, the private media
has served as the best adviser to Zanu PF while making the opposition fall into complacency by not similarly admonishing it as and when necessary.

The by-election results also show the folly of linear thinking in politics. People vote for many and varied reasons. Americans who considered themselves to be
non-racist voted for Donald Trump, who has made racist statements, in the 2016 presidential election.

And loyalty does not just evaporate like dew with sunrise. We saw it in South Africa where voters largely stuck by the ruling ANC in the general election held
this year.

Interviewed shortly before the elections, some residents in Marikana in South Africa’s North West province indicated that they would vote for the ANC despite some leaders being “corrupt”.

One of them, Mzwandile Ngqothwana, said although the party had been embroiled in corruption allegations, he would still vote for it. He said: “I am ready to vote for the ANC, although it is a corrupt party. I am ready to give them my vote again.

I am still going to vote for the same government because some of us are employed because of this government… Better the devil you know than the one you don’t know. They are corrupt, but what can we say?”

That’s realism, if you ask me. Tangibles have been delivered to rural folk in Zimbabwe — not that the arrest of MDC MP Job Sikhala had a knock-on effect on the rural voters, resulting in the Bikita loss, as lamely claimed by Masvingo provincial chairperson James Gumbi. We are talking of real sustained deliverables, not the token, piecemeal contributions by corrupt NGOs to keep donor funds rolling in at the expense of the suffering people.

Just like Ngqothwana, Peter Mathonzi said he would vote for the ANC because of its history. Mathonzi joined the ANC in 1994.

“I am a member of the ANC; I am very active,” he said. “I vote for the ANC, no matter what. The leaders are the ones who disappoint us, but I won’t abandon my organisation just because of certain leaders ruining it. The ANC has not failed me; only certain groups within the party have failed me.”

It’s not me who said it, but that is how people, whose collective vote decides election results, see it. And it’s their democratic right to see things the way they want — which is exactly what happened in the just-ended by-elections.

So, Mafume is the one who is completely lost to say “no person in their right mind can vote for Zanu PF”.

That misguided utterance alone, which rubs voters the wrong way – not rigging or corruption — is why the MDC loses to Zanu PF much of the time.

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Two critical developments, separate but intertwined, happened on Monday.

As a Harare magistrate was castigating President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Anti-Corruption Prosecution unit for lack of seriousness in dealing with corruption cases, the head of State was swearing Zimbabwe’s new Anti-Corruption commissioners.

Since coming into power in November 2017, Mnangagwa has been preaching the anti-corruption gospel.

But the gusto with which he has been speaking has not been mirrored by relevant bodies on the ground. The manner in which the Anti-Corruption Prosecution unit has been delaying the handling of the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) general manager Elizabeth Chitiga’s corruption case shows a lack of appetite in effectively dealing with corruption.

One can understand magistrate Nyasha Vhitorini’s frustration with the progress of the case, or lack thereof, as the State keeps on bringing new prosecutors who
would want to start from a scratch.

This is generally reflective of the lackadaisical approach that government has adopted towards corruption; a cancer that has viciously torn the economic and social fabric of the nation.

Many of the country’s parastatals and other such bodies are now on treasury support system after those who hold the levers of power helped themselves to the
coffers as shown by Auditor-General Mildred Chisi’s annual reports.

The collapse of such institutions as the National Railway of Zimbabwe, Cold Storage Commission and steel-making giant, Ziscosteel, can all be traced back to massive corruption by State actors.

The fact that corruption continues to spread its tentacles, with little or no action from the authorities, has seen the public lose confidence in government’s
approach to corruption, particularly when no significant arrests and imprisonments have been made.

Government has a lot to do in order to convince the citizenry and win its confidence.

This is not the time to treat alleged corrupt chefs with kid gloves as has been the case so far.

The extent to which corruption has become endemic in this country demands that it be dealt with expeditiously, otherwise we will just continue talking about it
and condemning it, yet doing nothing about it. The State will also continue to bleed as the fat cats go on a rampage, helping themselves to the national cake.

CAIRO — A Zimbabwean nurse travelled from Cape Town to Cairo by road enduring visa delays, internet blackouts and revolutionary protests all for the love of football.

Alvin “Aluvah” Zhakata had intended to make it to Egypt for the opening match of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on June 21, when Zimbabwe’s Warriors took on the hosts.

But he missed the match because his epic journey took much longer than expected.

Yet thanks to those following his adventures on Twitter, he has now become a celebrity – and the African football boss has presented him with a ticket to
today’s final between Algeria and Senegal.

When the 32-year-old arrived in the Egyptian capital last week, completing his 44-day 10 000km trip, he said it was well worth it despite some nerve-wracking
experiences.

And he says he has learnt a lot about himself and Africa.

“I used to think I was not patient, but my patience was stretched to the maximum – I’ve got a bigger patience threshold than I thought,” he told the BBC.

His other more sobering discovery was that “Africa is not friendly to Africans” – in terms of visas and borders.

Most people visiting from Europe or the United States were treated better, he said.

“And some of the visa fees for African countries, they are actually more expensive than visa fees when you want to go to Europe – and the waiting period takes
too long.

“I believe we need a borderless Africa.”

The journey began on May 27 on a route passing through South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.

He started off with his friend Botha Msila, a South African football fan, who lives near Cape Town, and they hitched lifts or caught buses.

“We wanted to make history as the first people to make it from Cape to Cairo by road for a sports tournament,” Zhakata said.

The locum nurse, who lives in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare, had kept in touch with Msila since meeting him at the Cosafa Cup final in South Africa’s Sun City two
years ago.

He had told him about how he had made a solo road trip in 2016 from Harare to Kigali to support the Warriors at the African Nations Championship in Rwanda.

They then cooked up their plan and raised funds for the journey from well-wishers following the hashtag #CapeToCairo to see their progress across the
continent.

But the two friends were separated when Msila turned back at the Kenya-Ethiopian border as he could not get a visa.

Ethiopia only allows online visa applications for travellers by road.

While they had the fee in cash, they needed help to get the funds electronically into their account. But then their application was further delayed by five
days.

“Unfortunately, their system was down because there was a national internet shutdown to avoid exam cheating,” explained Zhakata.

“I was so dejected that I couldn’t finish my food and my beer.”

Msila, known for his travels across South Africa and beyond to support the Bafana Bafana and his local club Bloemfontein Celtic, was so distraught he threw in
the towel, returning to Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

A South African broadcaster came to his rescue paying for a flight for him from Nairobi to Cairo.

But Zhakata was determined to stick to his guns.

And that is exactly what he walked into in Sudan where the security forces were out in force as protesters took to the streets of the capital, Khartoum, on
June 30 demanding an end to military rule.

The country has been hit by turmoil since the military ousted President Omar al-Bashir in April, but Zhakata hadn’t a clue what was going on.

He walked directly into the path of the protest as he was making his way to the Egyptian consulate in Khartoum.

“I could tell that something was happening, but I couldn’t tell what,” Zhakata said.

“I saw graffiti on the walls written in Arabic, with the number 30, but I couldn’t understand it. There were soldiers everywhere and people told me it’s not
safe.”

He was detained by police briefly and then released in what he calls a “shaking moment”.

People who were following his journey on social media then became extremely concerned as there was no news from Zhakata for more than a week.

The internet had been shut down in the country since a crackdown on pro-democracy activists on 3 June.

“I did find a place where I could go online for $30 (£24) for an hour. I saw all of these messages on social media with people being worried about me.”

His wry observations about life on the continent have been a subject of debate.

He posted one video as heavy rain turned the streets of Ethiopia’s capital into rivers, saying, “You hear that? These ain’t gunshots. It’s giant hail the size of tennis balls.”

The Kenyan capital does not get a particularly good write-up: “Enter Nairobi, everything changed, traffic congestion unbearable, filthy and muddy streets,
potholes, lots of activity, vendors with megaphones, bikes hooting, and generally dodgy pip.

“Everyone who helped us asked for a tip. Even police officers.”

In central Tanzania he observed that children of school-going age were working as vendors on the highway “selling farm produce, grapes, honey and fish. It
seems education is not a priority in this part of the world”.

Besides the visa headaches, language was the most difficult barrier. In Tanzania he said most people were unwilling to communicate in English, and they were
“even told to learn Swahili at school”.

In Ethiopia when he was ordered off a bus at 4pm because of a transport curfew he tried to find a bar to watch the Warriors’ match that night, but ended up,
after many crossed wires and an expensive taxi ride, at a shop selling sports equipment.

But he was welcomed in some towns by people who were following his journey online – like Firew Asrat in Hawassa in Ethiopoia, who gave him football shirts and
shared a beer with him. He tweeted: “This #Tweethiopian is the walking embodiment of the mantra #AfricaUnite.”

He says he tasted the best beer of his trip in mainly Muslim Egypt – a Stella – perhaps out of relief that his exploits were over. The best food – of roasted
meat and maize meal – was in Zambia.

His one disappointment has been the performance of the Warriors, who crashed out in the first round – amidst rows over pay.

But he says his achievement – which has become one of the biggest stories of this Afcon tournament – shows it pays to “dare to dream”.

“If you have a passion for something, go for it. Pursue it until you get it. It may be delayed, but delay is not denial – be patient and be strong, because the
harder the battle, the sweeter the victory,” he says.

BBCSport

LIVERPOOL — A few hours before his side claimed an unlikely third World Cup victory over Barbados on Tuesday, Zimbabwe head coach Lloyd Makunde snatched some time for a quick shopping trip in Liverpool city centre. With a meagre sum of £30, he headed for the nearest sports shop to see how far he could stretch his cash.

The objects of his desire were “cones, resistance bands, hurdles” and the type of training equipment that every netball club in Britain has in abundance, but which are so lacking in Zimbabwe. By any standards of elite sport it was a paltry amount, but the crucial fact is this was Makunde’s own money; the coach forced to take cash from his own pocket to try to further Zimbabwean netball’s cause. “I am buying for myself, but doing it for the country,” he tells
Telegraph Sport.

Makunde is cheery as cars whizz past us on the dual carriageway that Zimbabwe’s budget Liverpool hotel sits on. He has good reason to be content. Having
coached the national side for 22 years, he has spent the past few days watching his team take the World Cup by storm on their tournament debut.

Ranked 13th in the world, they are certain to finish no lower than eighth and could yet come fifth – a staggering achievement.

In fact, it is not just their first time at a World Cup, but the first time they have played any of the world’s best teams. Ordinarily consigned to facing only
fellow African opposition, they did once fly out to Hong Kong, where they faced lowly nations who failed to even qualify for this tournament. That is the sum
of their global netball experience.

So the fact they have beaten Sri Lanka, Northern Ireland and Barbados, as well as causing unexpected problems for reigning world champions Australia, is
something of a marvel. Even more so when you consider the hardship they have endured to even be here.

With money hard to come by and sporting funds in an overwhelmingly patriarchal society diverted towards the nation’s male footballers, the netball team were
forced to crowdfund their way to this tournament.

Even then, says Makunde, “we were with our begging bowl and nobody looked at us”. The desperate hope is that success in Liverpool will change that.

“Our game is rising bit by bit,” says Makunde. “But imagine if we had the funding that we want, the equipment, the infrastructure.

“We have only one indoor court in Zimbabwe, but it is being used by basketball and volleyball, so it’s hard for us to use. So we train outdoors. It was only
when we came here that we started practising on the type of court everyone else uses. We need training equipment. We always come up with anything to substitute
equipment, but you can’t substitute something like a resistance band. While I am here I’m going to buy myself some equipment with the little I have, so that
when I get home I can rely on that, lest anything doesn’t change.”

Just two of Zimbabwe’s World Cup squad ply their trade away from their home country – star shooter Joice Takaidza, who lives in Australia, and Adelaide Muskwe,
a student at Nottingham Trent, whose twin brother Admiral plays football for Leicester City.

The hope, says long-term captain Perpetua Siyachitema, is that some of her team might be scouted to join Severn Stars player Muskwe in the English Superleague,
or one of the other major global leagues.

That prospect has gone for Siyachitema – one of a large majority of Zimbabwe players who are also mothers – whose international career will come to an end
after this World Cup.

She can retire content having played the best teams in the world, in front of a spectacular troop of Zimbabwean fans who have lit up the M&S Bank Arena every
day.

“I was so excited when I saw we were in a group with Australia and New Zealand because it has always been my dream to play them,” she says. “We really wanted
to prove how good we are. We only play other African teams so we aren’t out there on the netball map. People don’t know us.”

For any progress to be made, that must change immediately, says Makunde. He has a simple plea to the world’s leading netball nations: “Let us play you.”

He says: “Imagine if we had come here after playing a friendly with England, Jamaica or New Zealand. Then we could sit down and learn from where we went wrong.

Think how much better we would be now. Even for tournaments in Africa, teams like South Africa, Uganda and Malawi don’t come because they are low profile
tournaments. So we are only able to play teams ranked lower than us.

“We have abundant talent in Zimbabwe. If we can get exposure and financial resource I know we can go far. If we get that, I assure you come the next World Cup
we will be a force to be reckoned with.” — Telegraph

BY MTHANDAZO NYONI

PLATINUM miner, Mimosa Mining Company, is spending US$3 million annually on infrastructural and community-based projects in the country as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR), an official has said.

The company’s general manager, Alex Mushonhiwa, told Southern Eye on the sidelines of the tour by Parliamentary Committee on Mines and Energy this week that the Zvishavane-based mining concern was committed to developing local communities.

“Basically, our corporate social responsibility is guided by our company policy, which really looks at infrastructure as a main area. It also looks at
education, health, and sustainable projects. Over the years, I don’t have the specific figures, but we have on average pumped in US$3 million. That’s the
budget we have put aside every year for projects,” Mushonhiwa said.

“And how then do we arrive at the projects? We look at the national projects by engaging the government and seeing areas of need in terms of national need.
That is in terms of education, health, water and all those infrastructural issues.”

Mushonhiwa said they had done a lot of work at Mpilo Central Hospital, Harare Central Hospital, Masvingo General Hospital, Zvishavane District Hospital and
Chitungwiza General Hospital.

In education, they took their CSR initiative to the University of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe School of Mines, Great Zimbabwe University as well as Midlands State
University “to try and make sure that the quality of graduates that come out there are of the right quality, because those are the same graduates that we
absorb in our work streams”.

“At a local level, we look at projects that will uplift and sustain the community. At the moment, we are doing a lot of boreholes and community gardens that
will ensure that there is good nutrition for the communities. So, those are the sort of infrastructural and community-based projects that we do as a company,”
he said.

The company’s CSR programmes started to take a strategic perspective in the 1990s, substantially contributing to community development.

It values community engagement in its approach to CSR and holds liaison meetings on a quarterly basis in order to enable community leaders to take the lead in
defining CSR initiatives that respond to their priorities.

BY SILAS NKALA

A SOUTH AFRICA-BASED man has been taken to Beitbridge Regional Magistrates’ Courts, facing armed robbery charges involving ZAR567 000, mobile phones and a Toyota Allex vehicle.

Enock Nyamani (35) from Mberengwa, who is currently based in Polokwane, also faces an attempted murder charge after he shot his victim eight times.

Nyamani pleaded not guilty to armed robbery when he appeared before Beitbridge Regional magistrate Crispen Mberewere on Tuesday and was remanded in custody to
July 23 for trial.

Prosecutor Munyonga Kuvarega told the court that on June 9, the complainant, Muchineripi Hlaringo (40), a self-employed Beitbridge resident, retired to bed at around midnight, having secured his residence.

It is the State’s case that at around 2am, Nyamani, acting in connivance with his accomplices, who are still at large, went to Hlaringo’s house, with one of
them armed with a pistol.

They allegedly cut the electric fence erected on top of the security wall in order to gain access into the yard.

Kuvarega said the gang forced open the screen door to the house before breaking into Hlaringo’s bedroom, awakening him and his wife Loveness Mhike. They shot
Hlaringo twice on the right thigh, once on the left calf, once on the right arm, thrice on the left arm and once on the lower abdomen.

Hlaringo fell to the ground and Nyamani and his accomplices demanded money from him, at the same time threatening to kill him. Hlaringo told them the money was
in a satchel under the bed.

Nyamani and his alleged accomplices took the satchel containing the ZAR567 000. They allegedly ransacked the room, searching for more money, taking two mobile
phones before tying Mhike’s hands with a string and getting away in Hlaringo’s Toyota Allex .

A report made to the police leading to Nyamani’s arrest.

BY RICHARD MUPONDE

GWANDA’S chronic water problems, which were largely attributed to obsolete infrastructure, are now a thing of the past after the rehabilitation of the water works.

However, residents bemoaned the ongoing water rationing exercise, which the mayor said was induced by power outages affecting pumping.

The town has perennially experienced critical water shortages, which have seen residents go for weeks without the precious liquid.

But over the past year, the municipality has been seized with addressing the water shortages problem as part of its drive that Gwanda attains city status by
next year.

This has seen the town fathers embarking on projects to revamp the water piping system and valves to ease the water problems.

They also built a multi-million mega 5-litre reservoir, which has been completed and is awaiting a test run.

Gwanda mayor Jastone Mazhale yesterday acknowledged the water shortages.

“It’s not bad. Every suburb gets some water every day, though rationed. This is solely because of power outages. The moment power is restored, water will be
supplied normally. It’s the problem of electricity which is affecting pumping, hence rationing. But it’s not as dire as other cities and towns,” Mazhale said.

The almost 15 hours of daily load shedding has reduced council’s water pumping time from the usual 36 hours, resulting in erratic water supplies.

Efforts to get a comment from ZETDC Gwanda manager, Todd Ntombi, hit a brick wall, with the official said to be out of his office. His mobile phone was also
unreachable.

The erratic power supplies have also not spared critical institutions and service providers such as clinics, hospitals and schools.

BY Nkululeko Sibanda

Government officials and politicians have allegedly grabbed gold milling centres set up by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and have turned them into private operations, it has emerged.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president, Henrietta Rushwaya told delegates at the third Women in Mining (WIM) 2019 conference held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) grounds in Bulawayo on Wednesday that officials had hijacked the facilities.

“Women are known to behave better compared to their male counterparts,” Rushwaya said.

“But we have some amongst our women folk, especially those in positions of authority in government, who have let their fellow women folk down. We have some who
have grabbed milling centres that the RBZ set up to improve gold deliveries to Fidelity Printers and Refineries and turned them into personal property. That is
not the way we, as women, should behave, especially when we are complaining about the manner our male folk have been treating us.”

“We also have some who are also letting us down by failing to pay back loans that were given to them by banks, especially the People’s Own Savings Bank.

“I am saying this practice should come to an end because such behaviour puts other women in bad spaces. How are other women going to access these loans if we
fail to pay back what we have borrowed?” she asked.

Rushwaya challenged government to act on complaints from women miners in Shurugwi where Zanu PF youths are allegedly grabbing mines from women.

“Honourable minister, I appeal to your office to get our word out there to the leadership that we are worried about the surfacing of people all over the shore
holding mining offer letters of mines that are in the (hands) of women.”

“What is worrisome is that some of these places had been shunned and were only revived by women and these women have made these places viable to such an extent
that they are now able to feed their families from the resources they derive from their activities,” Rushwaya said.

Permanent secretary in the ministry of mines and mining development Onesimo Moyo, who was present at the meeting pledged to resolve the disputes.

“I would like to advise the questioner that we shall be in the Shurugwi area on the 24th of this month so that we can deal with issues that have been raised.
We are aware of the issues and challenges thereof.”

“Myself, the minister and deputy minister of Mines, will host a meeting with all those affected where we shall seek to put an end to any challenges as alluded to by the questioner. We hope that we will have a fruitful meeting,” Moyo said.